Second War of the Races
Encyclopedia
The Second War of the Races was a fictional war in the Shannara
series of epic fantasy
novels by Terry Brooks
. This war is chronicled in the prequel to the Original Shannara Trilogy
, First King of Shannara
. The war caused the forging of the only weapon able to harm the Warlock Lord
, The Sword of Shannara. The Warlock Lord was seeking to destroy all of the Elves, Dwarves and Humans that remained in the Four Lands, the world all of them live in (it is named "Four Lands" because of how the four points of the compass correspond with the four different lands in it). With this weapon, the Warlock Lord was eventually "killed", though in reality, he was only banished until he could regain his physical form.
The war began with almost all of the Druids, a society dedicated to improving the quality of life for the people of the Four Lands through the teaching and application of technology and magic, being massacred at Paranor
, a castle in the center of the Four Lands and their home. Having been defeated in part by the efforts of the Druids in the First War of the Races, the Warlock Lord
decided to ensure that this would not happen twice. A banished Druid, Bremen
, caught wind of these plans and attempted to warn them prior to the massacre, but his efforts were "doomed" from the start—as the Druids, led by Athabasca, refused to listen. As a result of their "arrogance", Paranor was opened by traitors to the forces of the Warlock Lord, and all of the Druids were slaughtered immediately or later walled away alive. The only survivors out of the Druids were Bremen and the three Druids who heeded his warnings and left: Risca, Tay Trefenwyd and Mareth.
, Bremen, Mareth and Kinson Ravenlock tried to persuade Urprox Screl, the best human smith alive, to come out of his self-imposed retirement and forge the Sword. After days and a vision of his wife dying if he didn't do it, he decided to forge it. Using an "old-world" scientific formula for an alloy that was both strong and light, they forged the sword, testing the limits of Screl's skill along with the limits of Bremen's magic. They fused the Elit Druin, the symbol of the leader of the Druids, into its hilt as the source of its power (truth).
, burning it to the ground. A survivor of this attack was a twelve-year-old boy; he was found by Bremen, and after a time, he learns that the boy's name is Allanon
. The Elves, with a man named Jerle Shannara
as their king now after almost the entire royal famil was assassinated, mobilized their army and marched upon the Northland army. He planned and executed a midnight strike. The war continued to rage for days, with the Northland army attacking the Elves several times, but they were not able to break them. Bremen then bestowed the Sword upon Jerle; after this, it was known as the "Sword of Shannara". When the Northlanders brought up siege machines, Bremen and Allanon combined their magic and destroyed all of the machines; this combined with a large-scale evening strike upon the Northlanders by the entire Elven army and a small-scale Dwarven assault with Risca sent the Northlanders in full retreat. However, they were stopped a day later by the main body of the Dwarven army at the Streleheim. They had gone behind the Elven army and fortified their positions in this location, which was a major chokepoint. When the Elves caught up on the other side, the Northlanders were surrounded.
in The Sword of Shannara
, 500 years later.
Shannara
Shannara is an epic fantasy series of novels written by Terry Brooks, beginning with The Sword of Shannara in 1977 and continuing through Bearers of the Black Staff which was released on August 24, 2010, as well as a prequel, First King of Shannara...
series of epic fantasy
High fantasy
High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...
novels by Terry Brooks
Terry Brooks
Terence Dean "Terry" Brooks is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly epic fantasy, and has also written two movie novelizations. He has written 23 New York Times bestsellers during his writing career, and has over 21 million copies of his books in print...
. This war is chronicled in the prequel to the Original Shannara Trilogy
Original Shannara Trilogy
The Original Shannara Trilogy consists of the first three Shannara novels by Terry Brooks...
, First King of Shannara
First King of Shannara
The First King of Shannara is a 1996 epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. It is a prequel to Brooks' The Sword of Shannara and is set during the Second War of the Races...
. The war caused the forging of the only weapon able to harm the Warlock Lord
Warlock Lord
The Warlock Lord is the principal villain of Terry Brooks' novel The Sword of Shannara....
, The Sword of Shannara. The Warlock Lord was seeking to destroy all of the Elves, Dwarves and Humans that remained in the Four Lands, the world all of them live in (it is named "Four Lands" because of how the four points of the compass correspond with the four different lands in it). With this weapon, the Warlock Lord was eventually "killed", though in reality, he was only banished until he could regain his physical form.
Massacre at Paranor
The First War of the Races was a war where the Warlock Lord had tried to manipulate the entire race of man into destroying all of the other races; he failed, and he disappeared for a time. Centuries later, he reappeared and began a war that later was known as the Second War of the Races.The war began with almost all of the Druids, a society dedicated to improving the quality of life for the people of the Four Lands through the teaching and application of technology and magic, being massacred at Paranor
Paranor
Paranor is a fictional location in Terry Brooks' epic fantasy Shannara series. It is the home of the Druids, but it has fallen to enemies of the Druids several times since its initial construction...
, a castle in the center of the Four Lands and their home. Having been defeated in part by the efforts of the Druids in the First War of the Races, the Warlock Lord
Warlock Lord
The Warlock Lord is the principal villain of Terry Brooks' novel The Sword of Shannara....
decided to ensure that this would not happen twice. A banished Druid, Bremen
Bremen (Shannara)
Bremen is a fictional character from Terry Brooks' Shannara series of epic fantasy novels. He appears in the First King of Shannara, the prequel to The Sword of Shannara....
, caught wind of these plans and attempted to warn them prior to the massacre, but his efforts were "doomed" from the start—as the Druids, led by Athabasca, refused to listen. As a result of their "arrogance", Paranor was opened by traitors to the forces of the Warlock Lord, and all of the Druids were slaughtered immediately or later walled away alive. The only survivors out of the Druids were Bremen and the three Druids who heeded his warnings and left: Risca, Tay Trefenwyd and Mareth.
Chasing the Dwarves
After this "horror", the Warlock Lord's army marched out of the Northland upon the Dwarves and their capital, Culhaven. A Dwarven army watched the progress of the army for three days while planning a strike, attacking during the night of the third. The Dwarves retreated to a chokepoint named the Pass of Jade, but the Northland army was catching them slowly. Once the Warlock Lord's armies reached the pass, they attacked three times, but could not take it; the pass negated the greater numbers of the Northland army. A day later, the Dwarves retreated out of the Pass of Jade, only to find that another part of the Northland army had gone around to the only other pass out of where they were; they were in a bowl with only two exits. Trapped between the two halves, the Dwarves retreated out through a long-forgotten third pass. After retreating for days after that, the Dwarves made a stand at one of their strongholds, Stedden Keep, but they were routed and forced to retreat once more.The forging of the Sword
In the SouthlandSouthland (Shannara)
The Southland is a region in the Four Lands, the fictional world where Terry Brooks' Shannara series is set.-Overview:The Southland is inhabited mostly by men. It was largely divided with the largest country being the Borderland of Callahorn until the Federation took over the Southland after the...
, Bremen, Mareth and Kinson Ravenlock tried to persuade Urprox Screl, the best human smith alive, to come out of his self-imposed retirement and forge the Sword. After days and a vision of his wife dying if he didn't do it, he decided to forge it. Using an "old-world" scientific formula for an alloy that was both strong and light, they forged the sword, testing the limits of Screl's skill along with the limits of Bremen's magic. They fused the Elit Druin, the symbol of the leader of the Druids, into its hilt as the source of its power (truth).
A sudden turn
The Northland army then turned and sacked Varfleet, a city in the country of CallahornCallahorn
Callahorn is a fictitious autonomous country in most of the Shannara series of books by Terry Brooks. It first appeared in the opening novel, The Sword of Shannara.- Location :...
, burning it to the ground. A survivor of this attack was a twelve-year-old boy; he was found by Bremen, and after a time, he learns that the boy's name is Allanon
Allanon
Allanon is a fictional character from the epic fantasy Original Shannara Trilogy and the trilogy's prequel, First King of Shannara; all four are by Terry Brooks. Described as Brooks' "most enigmatic character", Allanon is very secretive and appears only when needed...
. The Elves, with a man named Jerle Shannara
Jerle Shannara
Jerle Shannara is a fictional character from Terry Brooks' Shannara series of epic fantasy novels. Only mentioned as a long-deceased person in the Original Shannara Trilogy, he is one of the main characters of the prequel novel First King of Shannara.- Biography :Jerle begins the story as captain...
as their king now after almost the entire royal famil was assassinated, mobilized their army and marched upon the Northland army. He planned and executed a midnight strike. The war continued to rage for days, with the Northland army attacking the Elves several times, but they were not able to break them. Bremen then bestowed the Sword upon Jerle; after this, it was known as the "Sword of Shannara". When the Northlanders brought up siege machines, Bremen and Allanon combined their magic and destroyed all of the machines; this combined with a large-scale evening strike upon the Northlanders by the entire Elven army and a small-scale Dwarven assault with Risca sent the Northlanders in full retreat. However, they were stopped a day later by the main body of the Dwarven army at the Streleheim. They had gone behind the Elven army and fortified their positions in this location, which was a major chokepoint. When the Elves caught up on the other side, the Northlanders were surrounded.
The final battle
The Elves and the Dwarves conducted a coordinated attack upon the Northland army at dusk. As the already decimated Northlanders were being routed, Jerle faced down the Warlock Lord. The magic of the sword worked and almost killed the Warlock Lord, but Jerle broke down after seeing images of his wife being attacked by a Skull Bearer. He became angry, and resorted to all of his years of training: he used the Sword as a weapon instead of a talisman. However, this allowed the Warlock Lord to be banished for a time while he regained his physical form instead of killing him. The duty of 'finishing him off' fell instead to Shea OhmsfordShea Ohmsford
Shea Ohmsford is a fictional character and the protagonist of Terry Brooks' epic fantasy novel The Sword of Shannara. In the universe, he is the last known person with the blood of Jerle Shannara, making him the only one who can wield the powerful Sword of Shannara to vanquish the Warlock Lord.-...
in The Sword of Shannara
The Sword of Shannara
The Sword of Shannara is a 1977 epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. The first book of the Original Shannara Trilogy, it was followed by The Elfstones of Shannara and The Wishsong of Shannara. Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and historical adventure fiction, Brooks began writing...
, 500 years later.